eBay Business All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies (ISBN - 0470385367)

868 Pages·2021·26.34 MB·English

Marsha Collier
Author of Starting an eBay Business
For Dummies, 3rd Edition

9 IN 1

BOOKS
BOOKS

• eBay Basics
• Essential Tools
• Selling Like a Pro
• Sourcing Merchandise
• Presenting Your Items
• Promoting Your Goods
• Storing and Shipping
• Power Selling
• Office and Legal

eBay

® Business

A L L - I N - O N E

2nd Edition

Making Everything Easier!™

Open the book and find:

• How to navigate through eBay’s
buyer and seller tools

• Tips on effectively using your My
eBay page

• Insider advice on creating listings
that win bids

• Sources for the merchandise that
sells profitably on eBay

• How top sellers use photos and
HTML to improve their sales

• Ideas for promoting your business
both on eBay and off

• Worry-free shipping strategies

• Painless guidance on keeping your
business legal

Marsha Collier is a highly respected eBay expert as well as the best-selling
author on all things eBay. Her books, including top sellers eBay For Dummies
and Starting an eBay Business For Dummies, have sold over a million copies.
She is also a highly experienced eBay seller who was one of the first eBay
PowerSellers.

$29.99 US / $32.99 CN / £19.99 UK

ISBN 978-0-470-38536-4

Small Business

Go to dummies.com®

for more!

A fully updated eBay business
primer from Marsha Collier,
renowned eBay business expert!

Whether you’re thinking about starting an eBay business
or are already up and running, this step-by-step guide will
lead you down the smart path to making a regular income
on eBay. With solid tips from the bestselling eBay expert,
this reference helps you get your eBay business off the
ground and manage the basics of listing items, completing
transactions, and keeping your buyers happy.

• Learn the nuts and bolts — discover how you can set up your
business, find and manage inventory, and run your business like
a pro

• Equip yourself with the tools that count — make the most of
eBay’s search engine, online sources of information, the PayPal
system, and eBay’s management tools

• Start selling like a whiz — learn valuable strategies for
managing and maximizing sales

• Source your merchandise effortlessly — learn the ins and outs of
online retailing and what it takes to buy and sell online with ease

• Get the word out — find out how to set up the optimal eBay
photo studio and develop and market your eBay Web site

• Be the power seller you were born to be — from opening your
eBay store to the nitty-gritty office set up, get your business up
and running

eBay
® Business

A L L - I N - O N E

Collier

2nd Edition

eBay Basics

Essential Tools

Selling Like a Pro

Sourcing Merchandise

Presenting Your Items

Promoting Your Goods

Storing and Shipping

Power Selling

Office and Legal

spine=1.73”

by Marsha Collier

eBay
® Business
AL L -I N - O N E

FOR
DUMmIES

‰

2ND EDITION

eBay® Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or
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ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written
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Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/
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eBay is a registered trademark of eBay, Inc. Marsha Collier is a registered trademark of Marsha Collier.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2008943496

ISBN: 978-0-470-38536-4

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Marsha Collier, one of the foremost eBay experts and educators in the world,
is also a top-selling eBay author with over 1 million copies of her books in
print. She is especially proud of two books: eBay For Dummies, the bestsell-
ing book for eBay beginners, and eBay PowerSeller Business Practices For
Dummies. Marsha co-hosts the Computer and Technology Show on KTRB
860am in San Francisco and on www.wsradio.com along with Marc Cohen.
She also shares her eBay business expertise through video training segments
at Entrepreneur.com’s Entrepreneur’s Coaches Corner and on her blog.

Marsha intermixes her writing about eBay with her role as experienced
spokesperson on the subject. She was one of the original eBay University
instructors, as well as a regular presenter at eBay’s annual convention, eBay
Live. Marsha also hosted the highly acclaimed “Making Your Fortune Online,”
a PBS special highlighting online business. While traveling across the United
States and around the world, she makes regular appearances on television,
radio, and in print to discuss online commerce.

Marsha earned her eBay stripes as a longtime seller on the site. She began
her eBay selling career in 1996 to earn extra money for her daughter’s educa-
tion (and eventually paid for university with her eBay earnings). She grew
her business to a full-time venture and was one of the fi rst eBay PowerSellers.
Nowadays, you can fi nd everything from autographed copies of her books
to photo supplies, pet toys, and DVDs in her eBay store (“Marsha Collier’s
Fabulous Finds”) and on her Web site.

Marsha currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. You can contact Marsha via her
Web site, www.coolebaytools.com.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all you prospective eBay sellers out there who have
the dream and the drive to succeed. I wrote this book for you, and I share my
expertise so you can skip the trial-and-error and go straight to work gaining
the most profi ts. Those who succeed join me in knowing that hard work and
loving what you do get the job done — and lead you to fi nancial achievement
and contentment.

Good luck in your endeavors. I know this book will help you get to the next
level.

Acknowledgments

Writing a book is a monumental task. Lots of people have helped, but the
lion’s share of assistance comes from the encouragement that I receive from
the eBay community and those I’ve met when “doing it eBay.”

If it weren’t for Patti “Louise” Ruby’s friendship and support as the tech
editor for this book, I think I might have lost my mind. She helped me keep on
top of the many changes on the eBay site and never said no to my seemingly
endless requests.

Once again, I was blessed with Leah Cameron and Barry Childs-Helton who
were my editors on this book. Working with Leah is a dream. She’s there to
lend her unique style of smart savvyness to my words. She truly “gets it” like
no one else. And Barry cleans up after us both. You’d almost think there’s no
one on earth with such vast experience with the English language — especially
Victorian nouns. I’m honored to have them as my editors; they help create the
very best in the For Dummies series. Thank you, Leah and Barry.

Then, of course, I thank the management at Wiley. My publisher, Andy
Cummings, and my acquisitions editor, Steven Hayes, both work hard to fi ll
the world with instructional and entertaining books.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form
located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer
Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media
Development

Editors: Leah Cameron and Barry Childs-Helton

Executive Editor: Steven Hayes

Technical Editor: Patti Louise Ruby

Media Development Manager: Richard Graves

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Lynsey Stanford

Layout and Graphics: Reuben W. Davis,
Nikki Gately, Christin Swinford,
Christine Williams

Proofreaders: Melissa Cossell,
Christopher M. Jones

Indexer: Steve Rath

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents at a Glance

Introduction ................................................................ 1

Book I: eBay Basics ..................................................... 7

Chapter 1: Hooking Up with Online Technology ...........................................................9
Chapter 2: Navigating through eBay .............................................................................23
Chapter 3: Signing Up and Getting Started ...................................................................37
Chapter 4: Understanding eBay Sales ...........................................................................59
Chapter 5: Checking Out the Seller and Leaving Feedback ........................................79
Chapter 6: Bidding to Win .............................................................................................103
Chapter 7: Completing the Transaction ......................................................................127
Chapter 8: Participating in the Community ................................................................141

Book II: Essential Tools ............................................ 163

Chapter 1: Researching on eBay ..................................................................................165
Chapter 2: Researching on the Web ............................................................................185
Chapter 3: Effi cient Communications for Better Sales ..............................................197
Chapter 4: Simplifying Payment with PayPal .............................................................207
Chapter 5: Using eBay’s Management Tools ..............................................................223

Book III: Selling Like a Pro ...................................... 245

Chapter 1: Be Sure Your Listings Make Cents ............................................................247
Chapter 2: Understanding the Finer Points of Selling ...............................................273
Chapter 3: Listing Your Items for Sale ........................................................................303
Chapter 4: Using eBay’s Turbo Lister .........................................................................341
Chapter 5: Managing Your Sales on My eBay .............................................................355
Chapter 6: Using PayPal to Organize Your Sales .......................................................375
Chapter 7: Checking Out Payment Alternatives ........................................................389

Book IV: Sourcing Merchandise ................................. 405

Chapter 1: Understanding Online Retailing ................................................................407
Chapter 2: Buying Merchandise Like the Pros ...........................................................419
Chapter 3: Selling Other People’s Stuff .......................................................................437
Chapter 4: Liquidation and Drop-Shipping .................................................................451

Book V: Presenting Your Items .................................. 463

Chapter 1: Your eBay Photo Studio .............................................................................465
Chapter 2: Mastering eBay Photography ....................................................................481
Chapter 3: Sprucing Up Your Listings with HTML .....................................................497
Chapter 4: Getting Your Photos Ready for eBay........................................................519
Chapter 5: Getting Your Photos on the Web ..............................................................529

Book VI: Promoting Your Goods ................................. 543

Chapter 1: Developing Your Web Site .........................................................................545
Chapter 2: Marketing Your Web Site and eBay Store ................................................557
Chapter 3: Using PayPal to Increase Your Sales ........................................................571

Book VII: Storing and Shipping ................................. 587

Chapter 1: Organizing Your Merchandise and Shipping Department .....................589
Chapter 2: Shipping without Going Postal ..................................................................611
Chapter 3: Insuring Your Item’s Delivery ...................................................................637

Book VIII: Power Selling .......................................... 651

Chapter 1: Upgrading to eBay’s Selling Manager .......................................................653
Chapter 2: Managing Your Business with Third-Party Tools ...................................671
Chapter 3: Studying Your Statistics .............................................................................697
Chapter 4: Becoming a PowerSeller ............................................................................707
Chapter 5: Opening Your eBay Store ..........................................................................713

Book IX: Office and Legal ........................................ 733

Chapter 1: Getting Legal with the State and the Feds ...............................................735
Chapter 2: The Joys of Taxes and Business Reporting .............................................749
Chapter 3: Using Bookkeeping Software .....................................................................763
Chapter 4: Keeping Your Business Secure Online .....................................................781
Chapter 5: Networking Your Offi ce ..............................................................................795

Index ...................................................................... 805